These Final Moments
by AangKatara777
Summary: They say that in the final moments before your death, your life will flash before your eyes. In the week before her death, Katara reflects on her life, specifically her life with Aang. Kataang. Multi chaptered.
1. Chapter 1: Prologue

**These Final Moments**

**.**

Katara woke with a gasp, beads of sweat forming in small droplets on her brow. She wiped her forehead and sat up as fast as her frail body would let her. This wasn't the first night she woke from this same nightmare. It often came to her when she thought too hard about him.

"It was just a nightmare," she muttered to herself, her old eyes adjusting to the light. _But it's not. He is really gone. _

She sighed and pulled back her blanket, slowly sliding her feet onto the floor and into her slippers. A walk would be good for her. She needed some time to think.

The nightmare was always the same. She would start off in Republic City at the healing center where she worked. She was always working on the same person: a man whose chest had been severely burned when a flaming board fell on him in a house fire near the Dragon Flats Burroughs. She remembered it perfectly. The man was drifting in and out of consciousness and his odds were not pretty good. She healed him with all her might, but his heart stopped. She stumbled backwards in stress and frustration. She was sixty-eight years old; this was beginning to be too stressful for her. The firebender on duty jumped in and tried to shock the man's heart back to life. She couldn't remember whether the man lived or died; the dream always got hazy at that point.

She sat in a chair against the wall of the room, her head in her hands as she tried to calm herself. Healing the man had taken a lot out of her. She noticed in the corner of her eye, a frantic-looking young woman who had just ran into the shop. She stood up and walked towards the woman, trying to find out what was wrong.

"What's wrong, miss?" Katara asked, placing her hand on the woman's shoulder, "Are you hurt?"

Dismissing her question, the woman look towards Katara with recognition in her eyes, "You're Katara, aren't you?"

Confused, she replied, "Yes, that's me, but what is wrong?"

"It's your husband! Avatar Aang! He was walking from the City Hall and he just collapsed!" The woman cried, grabbing hold of Katara's hand, "You have to help him!"

"Wh-what? Aang?" Katara asked, suddenly worried out of her mind. Surely he was fine, this woman was confused with someone else. She looked around the room. A fellow healer had heard what the woman had said.

"Go," She said softly, "We can handle things here."

Katara nodded, fear still in her eyes. She followed the woman outside the shop and asked, "Where is he at now?"

The woman never stopped moving, "They're bringing him to Air Temple Island. He requested to be brought there, and then he asked for you."

"Alright," Katara panted. She and the woman were jogging quickly through the crowds of people and she was already exhausted from work.

The dream flashed to Air Temple Island, where she sat by her husband in his bed. He had suffered from a heart attack, and it caused him to collapse. He seemed to have recovered a bit, but he was still in pain. Katara sat at the side of their bed where he lay and held his hand. He began to speak to her, but lately she had not been able to understand him. She knew his last words to her. She knew them by heart. But she wanted to forget that day completely.

Unfortunately, her dreams prevented that.

The nightmare would always end with him dying in her arms.

Before she knew it, she had made it to the porch of her son's home. She was staying with Tenzin and his family so that she could watch Korra take her airbending test. She knew that Korra would pass. She worked so hard, and she deserved it.

She loved Korra with all her heart, but she served as a constant reminder that Aang was gone, and he wasn't coming back. It never ceased to break her heart.

She could remember when this used to be her and Aang's home. This was the place they had their wedding. This was the place they started a family. This was the place they raised their children and grew old together. She moved away after he died because the memories were too hard for her to handle.

She walked down to the beach and sat down on a large rock that jutted over the ocean. Waves splashed against the rock and sprayed her with a salty mist. She noticed that it was a full moon, no wonder she was having trouble sleeping. Waterbenders always get antsy during them.

Minutes past before anyone came up to her. She hardly noticed her son walk up to her because of his light, airbender tread. He wore the same robes that Aang wore. To honor him, perhaps. Or maybe just to remember him.

"Mother," he spoke softly, "What are you doing out here so late? You'll catch a cold."

"I'm fine. I may be old, but I'm still as strong as I was in my youth," She smiled and looked towards him.

Tenzin gave a soft chuckle, "Okay, Mother."

He slid next to her on the rock and asked her again, "But what are you doing here? Are you having trouble sleeping?"

Katara sighed, "It's nothing. I'm just fine."

Tenzin looked at her with a concerned expression, "Are you sure?"

Defeated, Katara knew she would have to tell him. He was just like his father in that he would continue to prod her with questions until she talked. "No… I keep having a nightmare about him." She looked up at the statue of her beloved husband in the center of Yue Bay.

Tenzin's brow furrowed, "I see…"

"I miss him so much."

"I know. I do too…"

"For whatever reason, my mind is trying to remind me of his death." Katara sighed, "Even so, it gives me a chance to see him again, even though he is on his deathbed."

Tenzin placed his arm around her frail shoulders and pulled her close to him, "I'm sorry, Mother."

"It's alright," Katara muttered, but then she gave a hesitant chuckle, "I'm not going to be around for much longer. Then, I will see him again."

Tenzin pulled back, "But you're not sick, you still have life in you."

Katara smiled sadly, "I told Korra I would be here for her final training at the Avatar, so I will. Her airbending test is one week from today, is it not? But I can assure you; my body is getting weaker by the day. I can hold on, but I'm not sure I'm willing to any longer. The ache in my heart is too hard to bear and I am ready to go…"

"No, Mother. I want Rohan to have you as a grandmother. Don't you want to see him grow up? What if he's an airbender?" Tenzin pleaded.

"I want to see that. I want to see him grow up and be strong, but I may just have to do that from the spirit world…"

"Please just stay a little while longer, Mother."

Katara nodded. She would hold on just long enough to keep her promise to Korra. She didn't want to die, but it was beginning to be too hard to live. Moments later, she spoke again, "They say that before you die, your life will flash before your eyes…. I look forward to that. I want to see what I have accomplished."

Tenzin looked at her once more with sympathetic eyes. He hugged her, "You have accomplished many things, Mother. I can assure you that." With that, he stood up, bid her a good night, and left.

Katara smiled sadly towards Aang's statue. _I'll just have to see. _

She slid down from the rock and landed on the soft sand of the beach. She slipped her feet from her slippers and walked towards the gentle waves as they glided across the sand. The water slipped between her toes and she smiled, a few tears escaping from her eyes.

A little while later, she returned to her bed, sleeping without any disturbance.

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**A/N –**

**This will be a multi-chaptered story. **

**I hope you all enjoyed it, even though it's only just a prologue now. Basically, this story will consist of eight chapters. One for each day until Katara's death. Gee dangit, spoiler. No, its in the summary. **

**Katara will reflect on certain important parts of her life. Her life will literally be flashing before her eyes as she waits for death. Then, she can finally be with Aang… **

**Please review! I appreciate every one! …Unless you're flaming on me. **


	2. Chapter 2: The First Night

**These Final Moments **

**-The First Night-**

**.**

**.**

Light had just begun to creep into her bedroom when Katara woke up. For a while, she just laid in bed watching the stream of light slither across the room, illuminating it. Minutes later, when she was fully conscious, she attempted to get up. In no hurry, she slowly put on her sky blue dress and did her hair into its trademark "hair loopies", as her brother would call them.

_Oh, Sokka. _She thought to herself, _I miss you as well._

She walked out of her room, only to find Korra standing there, preparing to knock.

"Oh! Master Katara," She bowed respectfully, "I was just coming to wake you. But I see you're already awake."

Katara smiled and spoke, "I've been awake for a while. I had a hard time sleeping earlier last night, but everything is fine now."

"Oh, okay," Korra said, but then she put her arm around Katara's shoulders, "Its time for breakfast. Tenzin and Pema made your favorites!"

Katara smiled softly and nodded, "Let's go then."

Breakfast was chaos, as it often was when there were many people in the house. The children were rambunctious, save for Jinora, who was rereading Katara's stories about her childhood adventures. The teenagers were eating much of the food, and the baby was crying. Tenzin was about to blow his top. There was no doubt about it, he had gotten his explosive anger from her, but luckily she was able to contain it better as she aged.

She grinned and chuckled at the scene before her. Korra hesitantly laughed and led Katara to her seat next to Tenzin.

Tenzin sat, his head red with fury, as he yelled for his children to calm themselves and sit in a "respectable manner because their grandmother was present." Katara only continued to laugh as she remembered the days when her children were young and wild.

Katara looked over to Pema and smiled at her, "Pema. May I see the baby?"

Pema looked at her, hesitantly laughing, "If you want, but he's being really fussy right now."

"I'm sure I can handle it," Katara smiled, reaching her arms out to accept the baby into them. Once he was in her arms, the baby looked at her, confused by the new face. "Hello, Rohan. I'm your grandmother, remember?"

The baby smiled and reached out for her face, almost snagging one of her hair loopies in the process. Rocking the baby back and forth, Katara was quickly able to calm him down. Minutes later, he was asleep. She handed him back to his mother and turned to Meelo, placing her hand on his shoulder as he hopped up and down in his seat.

"Meelo, why don't you sit down? Your father is quite upset right now, and I think it would make him very happy," The small boy looked up at her, and Ikki looked over as well, "You too, Ikki."

Meelo and Ikki looked at each other and then back to Katara, "Okay, gran-gran…"

Katara smiled and looked across the table, where Korra was nudging her friends to slow down on the food. Minutes later, the table was quiet.

Katara broke the silence, "How about we try this again, shall we? Tenzin, will you say grace?"

Tenzin nodded, still alarmed by the sudden change in the room. He proceeded to thank the spirits for their food and the beautiful day ahead of them, and then the family began to eat again. Afterwards, they all sat around the table and talked. Occasionally, there would be laughter as someone would tell a humorous story, and it reminded Katara of the old days.

She remembered sitting around Iroh's teashop with her friends, sipping tea and laughing. How she wished she could live it all over again, just to experience it all. Soon, breakfast was over and the group of people went about their business.

Korra and her friends went out to practice for their probending match that evening. Tenzin suggested that they all go and watch, since it meant so much to them. Katara was happy to get out of the house and do something exciting, but as she watched them play, she was only reminded of Aang. They had gone to something similar as kids. Earth Rumble VI, she believed. That too was a pretty violent sport.

Probending had begun many years earlier - while Aang was alive- and she remembered him enjoying them. He always spoke about how the players fought so intensely, and how different their bending style was. There was no doubt it was different. So crisp and precise. The players were moving everywhere, especially Korra, who used her airbending tactics to evade every blast that was shot at her. They stood a very good chance in the upcoming tournament.

Too bad she probably wouldn't be there for it.

Korra had grown so much in the year that she had been living with Tenzin. She defeated Amon and the entire Equalist movement, helping the Council come up with new laws to help even the playing field between benders and non-benders, without the use of a revolution. She was able to get past her airbending block and master it in a year's time. And, with help from Aang, she was able to master the Avatar State.

Even though Aang was the youngest of all time, Korra was still one of the youngest fully-fledged Avatars in history. For that, she was very proud.

The Fire Ferrets won with a knockout in the second round, sending them closer and closer to being participants in the tournament.

That night, Katara headed to her room, a smile on her face. She deeply cherished the time she spent with her family and friends, especially now, since she believed she was going to die. She quietly slipped into her nightgown and pulled back the sheets of her bed.

Tenzin came by and said goodnight to her, and she quickly drifted off to sleep.

Suddenly, she was in a dream.

_Katara noticed when Aang had left the shop. Everyone was criticizing Sokka's painting, but it was entertaining to both him and his friends._

_Aang had stopped to pet Appa, but then proceeded to walk up to the railing outside the teashop. Katara told everyone she would be right back, and they continued to talk and laugh together about her brother's attempts to "capture the moment" _

_Katara slowly walked up to Aang, and, with a compassionate smile on her face, she embraced him, wanting to show him her every feeling for him. The hug lingered and she held him tightly against her. She was so proud of him. He had ended a hundred year war in less than a year at the age of twelve. _

_They pulled away, her hand still lingering on his shoulder, and they looked into each other's eyes. Katara could see all of Aang's emotions within his stormy gray orbs. It was then that she knew. That boy loved her. And maybe… she loved him too. _

_The two took a moment to look towards the setting sun, casting brilliant shades of orange across the sky, illuminating their skin. She had to make up her mind, it was only a matter of time before this moment they had together would be over. _

_Blushing, she decided what she was going to do. She continued to smile as she turned the boy to face her. He worn the same smile on his features, his eyes looking at her with all the love he could muster. And then she kissed him. _

_She knew it was the right time. She wasn't confused anymore. She loved him and he loved her. They deepened the kiss. _

_It would have lasted longer, had Sokka not interrupted them. _

"_Hey, guys- AH!" Sokka exclaimed as he witnessed their kiss. _

_The couple quickly pulled away and Aang was quick to defend them, "Nothing! We're not doing anything out here!"_

_Katara was furious, pointing an accusatory finger at her brother, "Haven't you ever heard of knocking, Sokka?" _

_Sokka shook with disgust, sticking his tongue out to emphasize it, "First of all, you're supposed to knock before you go **inside**, not before you go **outside! **And second, as my sister, you really shouldn't be kissing anyone in front of me. It's your sisterly duty to avoid giving me the oogies!" _

_Katara scoffed at his new word, "'Oogies'? Aargh! You are **so **immature sometimes! What about you and Suki?"_

_The siblings continued to go at it until Aang hesitantly interrupted, "Uh, Sokka? Sokka!"_

_Hearing Aang, Sokka paused, holding his hand up in front of Katara's face to silence her, "Time out." He turned to the monk, "Yeah, Aang?"_

"_What'd you come out here to tell us?" Aang asked, trying to change the subject of the matter. _

"_Oh! Right!" Sokka suddenly remembered, "We're about to head out." _

"_But the Earth King's celebration doesn't start for a couple more hours!" Aang exclaimed. The city was going to throw a massive celebration to honor the end of the war and the declaration of the Harmony Restoration Movement, the movement designed to keep peace and harmony between the nations. _

"_I know," Sokka smiled, "We wanted to take Appa out for a ride first!" _

_Aang laughed, "Alright, we'll be ready in a minute." _

_Sokka smiled, "Okay," but then he eyed them closely, signaling to them that he was watching them. _

_The couple hesitantly laughed before looking back at one another. _

_Katara held her palm to her face, trying to hide her blush, "I'm sorry he's so stupid." _

"_No problem," Aang grinned._

_There was a silence. _

"_Katara?"_

"_Yeah?"_

_Aang gulped, "I…Well, I thought you were confused. What changed?"_

_Katara sighed, looking him straight in the eye, "To tell you the truth, I was more worried than confused. All I knew was that very soon you were going to have to face the Fire Lord…And if something happened to you… I don't think I could handle that…" _

"_And now that I'm safe and sound-,"_

"_I know I won't ever lose you." _

_Aang was silent for a moment, but then he smiled, "So… you do like me?"_

_The question caught Katara off-guard, so all she could do was laugh, which startled Aang. "What's so funny?" _

_After a small laughing fit, Katara laughed, "Aang, I just kissed you for Pete's sake! Of course I like you! Heck, I think I lo-" She cut herself off, pursing her lips together, a blush spreading across her features. _

_Aang stared at her, eyes wide, as he processed what he believed she was about to say. Moments later, his eyes softened and he smiled, "I think I love you too, Katara…" _

_Katara, whose hand was already on her face again, trying to hide her blush, covered her mouth even tighter, hiding her smile. _

"_No, I know I love you." Aang corrected himself, "Ever since the moment I met you." He smiled and stepped forward, pulling her hands away from her face and placing a soft, yet firm kiss upon her lips; a kiss that Katara returned without hesitation. _

_The dream grew hazy at that point, signifying that she was either waking up or the dream was just ending. A distant voice called for her, but she couldn't make out who, or what, it was. _

"_Katara!" _

"_Katara!" _

"Master Katara!" A loud whisper sounded from above her, causing the old woman's eyes to snap open.

"Wh-what?" She looked up, and through her blurry vision, she made out the outline of Korra, staring down at her with a very concerned expression, "Korra? What are you doing here?"

Korra's features softened, "I was walking by your room, but I heard crying. **You **were crying. So, I came in and woke you up. Were you having a bad dream or something?"

Katara noticed the tears on her cheeks and wiped them away, sitting up and looking down sadly at her lap. "It wasn't a bad dream…"

Korra looked confused. Tears formed in Katara's eyes once more, "It's alright. It was just a dream, the sooner I realize that, the better."

Korra continued to look dumbfounded, "Wh-what was your dream about?"

Katara looked up at Korra's eyes and couldn't help but see part of Aang in them. It was something about the way they look when they're concerned, "It was about Aang."

Korra's eyes widened, and suddenly she felt very guilty, "I'm so sorry, Katara. I didn't mean to wake you from that, I thought you were having a bad dream. I know I shouldn't have bothered you. I just had heard from Tenzin that you were having trouble sleeping lately, and I didn't want you to have nightmares and-,"

"Calm down, Korra, it's alright," Katara sighed, "It's not your fault."

Korra nodded and looked sadly at the ground. A few moments later, she asked, "If you don't mind me asking, what happened in your dream?"

A few more tears made their way down Katara's face, but then she smiled, her eyes sparkling with fresh tears, "One of the happiest moments of my old life."

Korra looked at her intently. It was clear to Katara that she would have to continue.

Katara looked out her open window towards the glowing blue statue of Aang, "It was the day we became a couple. Just about a week after Aang defeated Fire Lord Ozai. All of our friends had gathered together in Ba Sing Se to celebrate, and Aang went out onto the balcony of our friend's tea shop. I followed him out there and we had a…very nice kiss."

Korra grinned at the last part, "Sounds like a good memory."

Katara smiled and took a breath to continue, but then she released it in a sad sigh, "Yes, but, you're right… It's only a memory now."

Worried that she had said the wrong thing, Korra spoke quickly, "Well, memory or not, I'm glad you experience that. Its nice to be able to remember happy moments."

"It is nice." Katara smiled, wiping a final tear from her eye, "But sometimes I feel as though I want to forget, so that this burning ache in my chest will just go away."

Korra looked at her sympathetically.

"But I don't want to forget."

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**A/N –**

**Woo. Another chapter!**

**Katara's not having a good time dealing with these flashbacks. Happy or sad, they make her cry. **

**I hate writing so depressingly, but I only want to accurately capture the emotions Katara must have felt when Aang died. With a drastically low supply of canon Kataang scenes, we Kataangers only have the subtle hints from the series to drive our stories. Some portrayals of their after-marriage life have been pretty extreme, some more restrained. I believe that their relationship after their beginning stages became very deep and loving, to the point that without one the other would fall. **

***sigh* Oh well. My depression at the end of Korra (for now!) and from the lack of canon Kataang has caused this. **

**I hope you all have enjoyed this. I look forward to any reviews you may present to me! **

**I noticed that many of you added this to your Story Alert…. I won't let you down. This will be a sweet story. And I will update often. **

**-Sarah**


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